Alyssa Healy has produced superb consecutive centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since data was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
